When surveys inquire about why potential car buyers are hesitant to switch to electric vehicles, the predominant concern is consistently related to charging. While gasoline fueling is well understood, the concept of plugging in electric vehicles is less familiar to many drivers. They express apprehensions about the potential wait times for accessing a charger, which can vary widely from 20 minutes to eight hours depending on the charger’s power.
The recent announcement from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has attracted significant attention. The company revealed that two new vehicles, scheduled for release in April, will have the capability to add 250 miles of range in a mere five minutes.
This charging speed is reported to be twice as fast as the upcoming generation of Tesla Superchargers. Following BYD’s announcement, Tesla’s stock experienced a five percent decline.
Though the prospect of a five-minute charge presents an appealing marketing angle and might address some drivers’ concerns about electric vehicles, experts caution that it may not represent as monumental a breakthrough in charging technology as it appears.
BYD attributes this rapid charging to an “all liquid-cooled megawatt flash-charging terminal system” and a newly developed automotive-grade silicon carbide power chip, according to Bloomberg. This technology combination is said to enable the vehicle to utilize up to 1,000 volts of charge. Although this is a modest enhancement compared to competitors, particularly within the passenger vehicle segment, where most electrics, including the Tesla Model 3, operate on 400-volt platforms, 800-volt models are becoming more prevalent. The upcoming Lucid Gravity, for instance, features a 926-volt powertrain, yet BYD surpasses this.
The pivotal advancement by BYD may lie in its chargers, which the automaker claims will be capable of leveraging the 1,000-volt charging capability. The company announced plans to construct 4,000 such chargers in China, although specifics regarding the timeline and locations remain undisclosed. BYD did not respond to inquiries from WIRED.
Installing these fast chargers is expected to be complex. Gil Tal, director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis, notes the typically prolonged process of setting up charging stations, often extending over months or years in many regions, due to time-consuming permitting and the intricate task of locating, constructing, and assembling the necessary components.
Moreover, larger megawatt charging stations entail greater power requirements, possibly necessitating costly upgrades to grid connections. Advanced liquid-cooled systems, like the one outlined by BYD, require robust, specially constructed cables and connectors capable of dissipating heat efficiently. Tal points out these systems demand more resources—including copper and cooling—which increases initial construction costs, potentially leading to higher charging prices for consumers.
Despite the lack of detailed information from BYD, industry experts recognize some aspects of this development, as superfast charging technology is not entirely new. Megawatt charging systems capable of delivering up to 1,250 volts have been under development for nearly a decade, primarily aimed at rapidly charging heavy-duty commercial vehicles such as electric trucks and buses. These efforts largely focus on such vehicles due to their substantial battery packs and the fleet operation nature, where downtime equates to financial loss. Consequently, depot operators are more inclined to invest in the additional funds necessary for superfast charging capabilities. It remains uncertain whether similar investments will be made for passenger vehicles and at what cost.
